My Skinny Dinner Picks

Dear Mom's,

Hiya! Well, we have made it juuuust about entirely through the first month of 2018! How'd it go for ya? Was it torture or was it smooth sailing? I/we (yes, there's a new guy I my life! More on that in another post..) into a new house here in Rockford! My skin is glowing, my hair is growing like nobody's business! I got my job transferred from South Carolina and have been maintaining a healthy 153lbs!

I've already stated that I don't partake in resolutions for the new year but; with my weight the way it is I HAVE been looking into some healthy-ish meal ideas. So, in my quest to be a better me- here's some "Skinny Weeknight Dinner" recipes that I ran across from Betty Crocker!

Usually, I give you meal ideas that don't take too long- 30 to 45 minutes start to finish is ideal for me; but this first dish is a whopping 60 minutes total! It's a One Pot Quinoa with Spicy Sausage. We've been slowly easing into the vegan lifestyle in our house and this dish is one that can easily be switched over to vegan!

One Pot Quinoa and Spicy Sausage
www.bettycrocker.com
Acquired 1/30/2018

PREP: 35 MIN 
TOTAL: 60 MIN
SERVES: 8

Ingredients:

• 1 lb lean spicy Italian turkey sausage, casings removed (or your favorite brand vegan spicy sausage
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 small onion coarsely chopped (roughly 1/2 cup
• 1 medium red bell pepper, coarsely chopped (around 1 cup)
• 1 medium green bell pepper, coarsely chopped (1 cup)

• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 package (12 oz) uncooked quinoa, rinsed
• 1 carton (32 oz) any brand reduced sodium chicken broth (vegetable broth can be used as a substitute)
• 1 1/2 cups frozen whole kernel cor
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 to 1/2 tsp ground red pepper (cayenne)
• 1 cup shredded reduced fat Mexican cheese blend (4 oz) (or vegan shredded cheese blend)
• 1 large tomato, seeded and chopped (1 cup)
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions: 

1. In a 5 qt. non-stick Dutch oven, cook and coarsely crumble the sausage over medium heat until it's not pink any longer. Drain; transfer the cooked sausage to a large bowl; cover it and set it aside.
2. Wipe out the Dutch oven with paper towel. Add oil; heat over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion; cook until softened (about 3 minutes) Add bell peppers and garlic, cooking until they too, are softened. Transfer the vegetables to the bowl with the sausage, cover and set aside.
3. Again, wipe out the Dutch oven. Add quinoa; cook over medium heat 1-2 minutes, stirring occasionally, until fragrant. Slowly stir in the broth, corn, cumin, chili powder, salt and ground red pepper. Heat to simmering over high heat, stirring occasionally. Cover; reduce heat. Simmer for another 20 to 25 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed and quinoa is cooked thoroughly. Stir in sausage and vegetable mixture; heat until hot.
4. Remove from heat; stir in cheese. Top with tomato and cilantro.

Back in the vein of time conserving meals, this fish dish goes from stove to table in less than 30 minutes! It's Uber gorgeous and decidedly delicious. It's Basil Salmon and Julienne Vegetables! Not everyone is familiar with the Julienne veggie concept. Some people think it's too fancy for them to recreate at home... I'm here to tell ya- it's just think sliced! Matchstick size slices is all we're looking for & we're only gonna be doing ONE lil zucchini! #YouGotThis 

Basil Salmon and Julienne Vegetables
www.bettycrocker.com
Acquired 1/30/2018

PREP: 15 MIN

TOTAL: 25 MIN

SERVES: 4

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp butter or margarine (I prefer butter because margarine is so very artificial) 
• 1 bag (1lb) frozen bell pepper and onion stir-fry (You can check your local Dollar Tree for Jennifer's Garden stir-fry veggies $1 a bag!)
• 1 medium zucchini, cut into Julienne strips (just think, matchstick)
• 4 salmon fillets (4-5 oz each)
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh basil leaves
• 1/2 tsp seasoned salt
• 1 tsp lemon pepper seasoning
• 1/4 cup any brand chicken or vegetable broth 

Directions:

1. In a 12-inch non-stick skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add bell pepper stir fry. Cook and stir 2 minutes. Stir in zucchini.
2. Place salmon skin side down, in Skillet, pushing down into vegetables if needed. Sprinkle salmon and veggies with basil, seasoned salt and lemon pepper seasoning. Pour broth over salmon and vegetables.
3. Cover and cook over medium-low heat 8-10 minutes or until salmon flakes easily with a fork. Remove salmon and vegetables from the skillet with a slotted spoon or spatula.

I have one more delicious dinner offering, although there are about five other "Skinny Weeknight Dinner" recipes on their site. (That title is a link to the actual recipes on the BC site. Feel free to stop by and sign up for their email newsletter and so much more!)

Anywhozit, the last dish I was over the moon with was the Skinny Smothered Pork Chops! (I said we're SLOWLY transitioning to vegan! Lol!) This was one of the first recipes I tried because my family lives a good smothered well, hell- anything! This dish was ALL up in my accepted time frame with a total time of 30 minutes! So, let's get started!

Skinny Smothered Pork Chops
www.bettycrocker.com
Acquired 1/30/2018

PREP: 30 MINS
TOTAL: 30 MINS
SERVES: 6

Ingredients:

• 
  
• 6 boneless pork loin chops (4oz each) (You could also use a whole pork loin like I did!)
• 1 tsp canola oil
• 1/2 cup chopped onion (1 medium size onion)
• 1 can (10 3/4 oz) condensed 98% fat-free cream of mushroom soup with 45% less sodium (you can use a non dairy based cream soup as well)
• 1/4 cup of water
• 1/2 tsp reduced sodium soy sauce
• 1/4 tsp dried sage or thyme leaves
• 1/8 tsp pepper
• 1/2 cup fat-free sour cream

Directions:

1. Trim any visible fat from the chops. Heat 12-inch non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork chops, cooking about 4-5 minutes per side or until they are slightly browned. Remove chops from pan, set aside.
2. In the same skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion, and mushrooms; cook 3 minutes, stirring frequently.
3. Stir in soup, water, soy sauce, sage and pepper until well mixed. Heat to boiling. Add pork chops to skillet, spooning some of the sauce over them. Reduce the heat and cover, turning pork chops occasionally, until the pork chops are no longer pink in the center, or have an internal temperature of 170° in the thickest portion. Stir in sour cream, until well blended and smooth. Cook, stirring constantly, just until hot. Serve with the mushroom sauce mixture. 

You can pair these chops with rice, potatoes, or just a green salad. The sky and your imagination are the limit! I hope that these recipes helped get you on or keep you on track for your 2018 goals and I hope that 2018 is all that you hope it will be. Lol I also hope that you enjoyed will continue reading my blog and sharing it wherever you share the ish you enjoy!

Until next time, keep calm and be a CRAZY Mom!